South East Queensland Well Positioned For Olympics 2032 Bid

There is a case being made by the South East
Queensland Council of Mayors to seriously consider preparing a regional bid to
host the 2032 Olympic Games. The ‘region’, branded SEQ would encompass Brisbane,
The Sunshine Coast, The Gold Coast, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Redland, Moreton Bay
and Logan shires. The main thrust of the case being made is that infrastructure
projects currently in progress, as well as those being planned for the future, could
be given a valuable boost towards completion earlier than would otherwise
happen.

Brisbane’s management of the South Bank project for
the World Expo is a perfect example of how the public can enjoy the benefits of
such costly enterprises for decades to come. In fact, it is hard to imagine
Brisbane without the wide-ranging facilities that South Bank has created for
visitors and locals alike. It’s as if a project that was planned primarily for
a world-wide purpose led to huge benefits for people from near and far for
decades to come – a beautiful place for people from all walks of life to come,
to enjoy just being in that space, or to choose from a wide range of social and
cultural activities, events and experiences.

How much better would it be if the general public’s
future use and applications of such huge government-sponsored projects deliberately
and conscientiously included in the planning and implementation process? In
this instance, then, people would fully support such projects when they have assurances
that what’s in their best interests will be protected and fostered.

It’s possibly along those lines that Brisbane Lord
Mayor Adrian Schrinner was thinking, it seems, when he was talking to the media
recently. Based on a feasibility report undertaken by the council, he gave
assurances that the games could be done in a ‘cost-neutral’ manner while
providing useful infrastructure across the region.